Small inscriptions above the men identify them as Sukdeva on the left and Parikshit on the right. Sukdeva was a learned sage or philosopher and the narrator of the Bhagavatapurana, the epic tale of the life and adventures of the great Hindu god Krishna. Sukdeva spent a week reciting the text to King Parikshit, who gained salvation by listening to the story. The scene takes place within a small pavilion hovering above the banks of the holy river Ganga (known today as the Ganges), where the recitation took place.